Class 1 Reflection

I came into this classroom with the expectation that this would be a lot like the Science Instruction class I took last semester with Dr. Stohr. I figured that the overall setup and organization of the class as well as the kinds of homework and projects assigned would be the same as Science and that many of the people would remain the same. However, I came into this class with a new set of expectations concerning what I will walk away with at the end of the semester. I expect that my teachers will give foundational support and instruct me and the other undergraduate students in a way that gives us the same toolkit as the people who are already teachers in our class. I expect that my professors will differentiate my work from the work of my classmates that already have their degrees in Education and classrooms of their own. I expect to get extensive background information on things like lesson planning and how to approach teaching in the classroom before I am expected to do any microteaching myself. In terms of what I expect from myself,  I hope to be receptive to the knowledge and foundational aids being gifted to me. I also expect to be present in class as much as possible and gather ideas about different ways to make learning social studies interactive and fun.

In our first class, I thought that the idea of relevance and meaning were crucial in terms of social studies instruction. In reflecting on my elementary years, I remember hating the history being taught to us because it felt so foreign and disconnected from my everyday life. I did not see the meaning it had for me and those around me because it was not presented in the correct way. Another thing that I found particularly important about the discussion we had in class was the emphasis put on creating interdisciplinary lessons. The image displayed on the board could have been used for so many different lessons and in the end, connected back to social studies.